Colorado's Own Colterris Winery Puts Vintage Wine in Cans

September 8th, 2017

Confession: I avoided wine in a can out of shear snootiness. I’d gotten used to wine in a box and plastic corks, but wine in a can was a step too far down the path to wine in a 40-ounce with a side of Cheez Whiz. I was wrong. Wine in a can can be delicious and classy. It’s an easy addition to lunch on the trail, an outdoor concert or a lazy afternoon at the pool (especially where glass containers are forbidden).

The winery that tempted me to finally try wine in a can was Colorado’s own Colterris. The winery officially introduced three “Canterris” wines on Wednesday, September 6, though wine drinkers at last weekend’s Taste of Colorado got a sneak peek. The cans went like hotcakes at the festival for a reason; wine in a can is perfect for such a venue.

“Coloradans love the outdoors,” notes Colterris Winery proprietor Theresa High. “Canterris wines are perfect for biking, camping, concerts, barbecues and picnics.” It would be easy to toss one of these neatly boxed four-can parcels into a backpack. Each can contains the equivalent of two 4.2 oz. glasses.

The three Canterris wines are being marketed primarily to women, who are more likely to want an adult beverage other than beer at an outdoor event. High also sees an opportunity to introduce millennials to wine through the new can, and baby boomers who are retired and enjoying the outdoors represent another good market possibility.

Colterris also sells a variety of bottled wines. The winery derives its name from “Col,” as in Colorado, and the Latin word “terris,” from the land. All of its bottled and canned wines originate from the company's Grand Valley vineyards. In fact, the Canterris wines are “the only estate grown, vintage dated, premium wine in a can currently being produced anywhere in the world. A seriously good wine in a CANvenient package,” Colterris states.

The wines are good, too. They had none of the metallic taste I assumed in my ignorance a canned wine would have. The flavor is no different than bottled wine. The Canterris white wine is a chardonnay, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc blend and is redolent of grass and grapefruit, with the chardonnay profile dominant. I’d pair it with salad, chicken or antipasto.

The red wine is a blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot and cabernet franc. It has a spicy, chocolaty bouquet and a deep red color. It's full-bodied, but because of the smooth finish, you can drink it without food (as I am doing right now). That said, it would be lovely with barbecue or chocolate cake.

The best of the Canterris collection is the rosé, made with cabernet sauvignon grapes. The wine’s bouquet is of roses and strawberries, and the taste is delicate. Though dry, it would pair very well with dessert and would be perfect with a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich. I plan to drink it for the remainder of summer.

The only drawback to wine in a can is you can’t recork. I didn’t finish my can of rosé, so I put the remaining precious drops in a Tupperware and put it in the fridge. That’s how classy I am.